Automatic feeder



Aug. 8, 1950 K. F. RICHARDS AUTOMATIC FEEDER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 24, 194'? g- 8, 1950 K. F. RICHARDS 2,518,375

AUTOMATIC FEEDER Filed April 24, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 1572422 17227?/Qw/v5r/-/ FEM/MR0:

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Aug. 8, 1950 K. F. RICHARDS AUTOMATIC FEEDER 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledApril 24, 1947 237F577 far F M E M. E

Aug. 8, 1950 K. F. RICHARDS 2,513,375

AUTOMATIC FEEDER Filed April 24, 1947 GSheets-Sheet 4 a3: 34 am l 721ZZYVEJT Z227? KENNETH F Flu/A $05 Aug. 8, 1950 K. F. RICHARDS AUTOMATICFEEDER Filed April 24, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 KENNETH F IP/cHAROSPatented Aug. 8,

AUTOMATIC FEEDER Kenneth F. Richards, Willoughby, Ohio, assignor toThompson Products, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application April 24, 1947, Serial No. 743,514

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for automaticallyfeeding materials to a processing or work station.

Specifically, this invention deals with the automatic feeding of a valvestem to the throat of a centerless grinder and positioning it thereinfor machining to size.

According to this invention there is provided an automatic feeder forsuccessively supplying work to the grinding throat of a grindingmachine, holding the work in proper position in the throat and forremoving the work after completion of the grinding operation. The feederwill hereinafter be specifically described in connection with thefeeding of poppet valves to the grinding throat of a centerless typegrinder, but it should be understood that the invention is not limitedto such embodiments, being generally useful in the feeding of workpieces to any type of machine. V

The feeder of this invention includes an inclined supply track havingspaced rails receiving freely therebetween the stems of valves to beground. The heads of the valves span the rails and rest thereon.Succeeding valve heads overlie preceding heads on the track, and thetrack is manually filled with valves from its upper end to provide astepped series of valves. The valves as they reach the lower end of thetrack are successively fed by gravity into, a loader arm which receivesthe valve head and tilts the valve to position it uppermost in a slot ofa turret while 1 its head rests on an arcuate track. The turret holdsseveral valves and is intermittently driven to convey the valves fromthe loader arm to a work holder arm. This holder arm has a slotted headinto which the valve head is pushed as the turret rotates. The holderarm is then swung outwardly to tilt the valve and swing the stem tionand the machined valve is permitted to drop by gravity into a chutewhich directs it to a suitable receptacle. Meanwhile, the turret haspushed the next valve into the slotted head of the holder arm for thesubsequent grinding operation.

In grinding an articlesuch as a standard type of poppet valve that haseither a shoulder, a head,

or other enlarged portion at one end, the operations of feeding thearticle into the throat of the grinder and removing it therefrom aremost advantageously carried out from the same side of 21 Claims. (01.51-215) 2 the grinder. It is evident therefore, that these twooperations must be performed separately in order that they do notinterfere with each other and delay the production of finished articles.In the present invention both the operations of positioning the valve inthe grinder and removing it therefrom are carried out by the samepivoting work holder arm, thereby preventing interference. Moreover,valves are fed to the holder arm by the turret with a minimum amount oflost time between the removal of one valve and the positioning of thenext in the grinder. The productioncapacity of the grinder is thusgreatly increased by the use of the apparatus of this invention.

In any grinding operation where only a relatively small amount ofmaterial is removed, such as a finish grind on a valve stem, the timerequired for grinding the valve is so short that the operator could notefliciently operate more than one machine. He would be required to shiftback and forth from one machine to the other at an exhausting rate. Theapparatus of the present invention provides a method for efficientlycarryingout the grinding operation, in which the operator is onlyrequired to keep the supply track filled with valves. By the use of thisinvention one operator can easily keep two or more machines operating ata relatively high production. Further, the services of a skilled grinderoperator are not required where the apparatus of this invention isemployed.

An important feature of this invention resides in the provision of'aloader arm, swingable by a cam-actuated mechanism from a lower receivingposition to an upper discharge position and having a slotted headportion adapted in its lower position to receive therein the head of avalve and arranged in its upper position to allow a rotating turret toslide the valve head out of the slotted head portion.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a rotatable turrethaving a plurality of slots in the periphery thereof for moving valvesor other work from a receiving to a releasing position, and beingrotated by a peg-type intermittent drive mechanism.

A further feature of this invention is the pro vision of a work holderarm swingable by a camactuated mechanism from a vertical receivingposition to a horizontal working position and then to a verticalreleasing position, said holding arm having a slotted head arranged inits vertical position to permit a rotating turret to insert a valve headtherein or remove one therefrom, and

in the horizontal position to hem the work in the grip of the jaws whenthe valve is moved into position for grinding to permit the valve tospin during the grinding operation.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide a compact feedmechanism suitable for installation on a standard grinding machine andadaptable to be driven from the power take-01f of the machine. a

A further object of this invention is to provide 1 a feed mechanism.capable of automatically taking articles to be machined from a supplysource,

- positioning each article in the working zone of a machine tool,holding it in this position during machining and then directing it to astorage container, the operations being performed suc- 1 cessively andso coordinated as to allow a mini- 1 mum of lost time between eachoperation.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatusfor holding a poppet valve during grinding of the stem to permitrotation of I the entire valve during the operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be readilyapparent to one skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:.

Figure l is a front elevational view of the novel feeder mechanism ofthis invention mounted on a standard type centerless grinder;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the feeder mechanism mounted on thecenterless grinder illustrated in f Figure 1, particularly showing awork piece posi- 'tioned' by the feeder mechanism in the throat of thegrinder; i

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of that portion of Figure2 which shows the work piece in the throat of the grinder;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view, partly in 1 section, of the feedermechanism of this inven-v tion;

Figure 5 is a plan view partly broken away of the feeder mechanism ofthis invention;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the feeder mechanism takensubstantially on line VL-VI.

of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a revolvedposition of a portion of the mechanism of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of the feedermechanism;

Figure 9 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of the feedermechanism of this invention;

Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along lineXX of Figure 6 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Figure 11 is a vertical elevational view of a modified form of the valveholder arm of the feeder mechanism of this invention, showing indot-dash lines the revolved position ofthe holding arm when the valve isbeing held between the grinder wheels; and

Figure 12 is a vertical sectional view on line X[IXII of Figure 1.

In Figure 1 the reference numeral I ll designates a typical centerlessgrinder comprising a base portion II on which is mounted a grindingwheel I2 including a trueing attachment [3 and an adjustable regulatingwheel [4, with a trueing attachment I5. The regulating wheel I4 isconveniently driven by a motor and a suitable mechanism enclosed in ahousing 16.

To permit the regulating wheel M to move toward the grinding wheel l2 atthe beginning of the grinding operation, the regulating wheel and thehousing [B are mounted on a platform I! which is suitably disposed onthe bed of the grinder for back and forth movement. An in-feedmechanism, indicated by the reference numeral 3, is motivated from apower unit I9 to provide the reciprocating movement to the platform H.

The automatic feed device of this invention is generally indicated bythe reference numeral in Figures 1 and 2. It is mounted on the side ofthe grinder on a bracket Zlla. (Fig. 8) and is adapted to take valvesfroman inclined track 2|, position them in the throat area of thegrinder for machining and then direct the finished valves (Fig. 2).

As best shown in Figures 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9, the frame of the automaticfeeder 20 of this invention comprises a substantially box-shaped base25, which is partially hollowed out to afford a chamber a. On the uppersurface of the base 25 is secured, by means of cap screws 26, an uprightbody member 21 the central portion of which has a circular cross sectionwhich progressively decreases in area from bottom to top. The

body member 21 may be located on the base 25 by means of a, pair of keys28, Figure 6, which are fastened by countersunk screws onto the underside of the member 21 and are arranged to seat other. These mechanismsinclude driving means for rotating a conveyor for moving valves from awork receiving station to a work processing station, driving means foractuating a loader arm to deliver work to the Work-receiving station ofthe conveyor and drive means for actuating a work holder arm forremoving work-at the work-processing station.

Means for driving the conveyor of this invention is provided by a driveshaft 33,- Figure 6, which is suitably journaled in a bearing 34recessed in the vertical body member 27 and which has an enlargedshoulder portion 33a. adapted to rest on a washer 35 positioned on theuppermost surface of the vertical member 21. The shaft 33 is thusarranged to be supported by th vertical member 21 for rotation therein.

A rotatable turret-type conveyor 36 has a vertical central aperture 360.adapted to be positionedover a reduced portion 33b of the drive shaft33. The turret 36 is thus supported on the upper portion of the shoulder33a of the drive shaft and may be conveniently keyed to the upperportion 33b of the shaft; for rotation with said shaft. 7 a

The turret 36 is circular in form and has a plurality of work-receivingslots 36b disposed isarranged to abut against adjustable stop screw 63threaded into'the body member 21, and thus align itself directly under aslot 351) of the turret 36. The work holder includes an arm 64 keyed 1'toa pinion shaft 65 which is journaled in a bear- I sing 66,,Figure 5,in a bracket Bl secured by set :screw 68 ,to the central body member 21.This ;.bracket 51 has arearwardly extending portion ,:-61c which isdisposed horizontally across the back .of the feeder. A recess portion67b, Figure 6, di-

the head of the spinning valve will tend to rub thereagainstl A pair ofoppositely disposed guides 12 and 13 are secured by set screws to the.wear plate. The guides 72 and 13 have over- 'hanging lip portions 12aand 13a, respectively, which form arcuate shaped channels for receivingthe head of the 'valve as the turret 36 swings the valve toward theholder arm 52.

' As" previously mentioned, the cam controls the pivoting movement ofthe work holder 62. This is accomplished by a roller follower 14, Fig- 7ure 8, which actuates a rack 75, being mounted for rotation in the lowerbifurcated ends- 15a thereof. The rack is conveniently disposed in aguide portion 21b of the central body member 21 and is guided therein bya setscrew l6 which is arranged to project downwardly into a kcyway 15bin the rack 15.

The teeth at the upper end of the rack 15 are in mesh with the teeth onthe pinion shaft 65.

When the follower M is riding on the lower dwell portion of the cam 5|,the work holder 62 is held in a vertical position, illustrated in Figure8, through the action of a spring 11. This spring 1'! has its lower enddisposed over a peg 18 secured in the body member 21b and its upper endanchored over a peg l9 secured in the upper end of the rack 15 and thisis thus adapted to exert a downward pressure on the rack 15. When thecam-follower rides up the inclined surface 5m of the cam, the workholder will be swung down- -wardly to the substantially horizontalposition shown in the dot-dash lines in Figure 8. In this position thevalve stem is held in the throat of :the grinder. After a predeterminedperiod the follower will reach the surface 51b and the spring fl! willreturn the arm 62 to a vertical position for unloading the finishedvalve.

To supply valves to the loader arm 56 there is provideda supply track2!, Figures 1, 8, and 12, which is mounted on the side of the machine,being supported by a support arm 80 secured as by welding to the trackand. to the frame of the grinder. At its lower end the track issupported by an angle plate 8!, Figure 8, one leg of which is fastenedto the track by cap screws 82, and the -other leg of which is fastenedto the central body member 2! by cap screws 83.

As best seen in Figure 12, the track comprises a pair of upper plates 85and a pair of lower plates 85. Each upper plate 84 is secured to a lowerplate 85 by a plurality of cap screws 86 which are spaced along theentire length of the track. The valve head rests on the upper platesWhile the valve stem hangs free between the lower plates. To hold thetrack assemblies apart there are proyided two spacer brackets 88, eachof which ,com-

' of the grinder.

the chute. downwardly as far as desired and may be made to dischargeinto a receptacle or on to a work'table.

The downwardly extending to the upper plates 84'by cap screws 92 with aspacer plate 93 betweeneach uppeer plate and eacharm. I

At the endof the track adjacent the feeder each upper plate 84 isprovided with a substantially horizontal portion 84a, shown in Figure 4,which is adapted to hold the lowest valve in the line in a susbtantiallyhorizontal position preparatory to being pushed intothe groove of theloader arm 56 by the weight of the valve immediately behind it. When onevalve is positioned in the guide slot in the loader head 56, the valveimmediately behind it comes to rest against the loader arm and is heldfrom further downward movement asthe loader arm rotatesby the side ofthe loader arm which is in contact with t'ne edge of the valve.

After a valve has been swung upwardly by the loader arm 56 andpositioned in a slot in the turret 36, the valve will be slid out of thearcuate recess formed by the guides 58 and 59 on the loader arm 55 andonto the lower surface of an arcuateshaped track assembly 94, Figure 6,which extends in a substantially semi-circular path around the side ofthe feeder. The track assembly 94 comprises a lower plate 95 which isenclosed by an arcuate-shaped housing member 95 and which may be weldedthereto. At the upper end of the housing 95 and extending inwardlytherefrom, an arcuate-shaped member Q'lprovides a guide surface forpreventing the valve stem from'moving out of the slot in the turret 36as it rotates from the loader arm 56 to the work holder arm 62. Theupper surface of the lower plate 95 is in the same plane as the uppersurface of the wear plate of the work'holder 62 in order that the valvemay be easily slid into the upper guide portion of the work holder. Asis best shown in Figures 5 and 9, the track assembly 94 may beconveniently supported by a bracket 98 which has a flat upper supportsurface 98a and a downwardly extend ing arm 98-5 which is secured by capscrews 99 to the'body 29;

After the valve-has been machined in the grinder and returned to theslot in the turret 36, the turret will be rotated clockwise as seen inFigure 5 and the valve will be allowed to drop by gravity into a chute22 which is disposed under the turret.

This chute is a substantially -U-shaped member which may be convenientlymade from sheet metal and which is suitably supported by a brace 89,Figure l, welded to the chute and to the frame An additional brace 99a,Figure 4, may be disposed under the upper end of the chute between theupper body member 21- and The chute may, of course be extended From theforegoing description it is seen that there is provided in thisinvention a supply track for delivering valves to a loader arm which isadapted to swing the valve upwardly into a slot in a, rotary turret. Theturret is intermittently driven by an indexing plate and arranged toslide the valve out of the guide head of the loader arm onto a track andthen by intermittent pushes to propel the valve around the track andslide it -,mits the valve to dropintoa chute in which it is. directedtoasuitable receptacle.

In Figure 11 is shown a modified form of the work holder arm. This workholder comprises an upright arm I02 which has a lower portion i021:keyed to the pinion shaft 65 for rotation therewith. A second arm memberI03 is pivotally' disposed on the arm I02 having its lower bifurcatedend I03a disposed over a projecting portion [021 of the arm I02 andsecured for pivoting thereon by a pin I04. These two arm members I02 andI03 are yieldably held together by means of a spring I05 disposed over abolt I which passes through an opening I03bin the arm I03 and isthreaded into the arm I02 and locked therein by a lock nut I07. When theturret slides a valve into the opening at the upper end of the arm thespring I permits the two arms to separate slightly to allow the valvehead to be positioned therein and then maintains a pressure on the twoarms tending to close them and thus hold the valve relatively tightly inthe upper portion of the arms. When the valve is inserted in the throatof the grinding machine it is desirable that the valve head be allowedto spin while the grinding operation is being performed. To accomplishthis, there is provided a spreader pin I08 which passes through anopening I02b in the arm I02 and is threaded into the arm I03 and heldtherein by an adjustable nut I09. A stop plate IIO may be convenientlysecured by a cap screw III into the bracket 61.

When the work holder is swung down, the stop pin I08 will contact thestop plate I I0 and cause the pivoting arm I03 to swing away from thearm I02 against the action of the spring I05. It is apparent that theamount of opening can be easily controlled by adjusting the position ofthe stop pin I08. When the work holder is swung back into its uprightposition the stop pin upon leaving the stop plate I I0 will permit thespring I05 to once more swing the arm I03 toward the arm I02 and firmlygrip the valve in the upper guide portion thereof.

In operation, the drive mechanism of this invention is arranged torotate the turret only when both the loader arm 56 and the work holder62 are in the upright position, both valves being swung into slots inthe turret. This coordination is effected by setting the cams 5i and 50,as shown by Figures 8 and 9, respectively, with the cam followers on thelow dwell portion of the cam. It is to be noted that in this positionthe loader arm 56 and the work holder 62 are in their upright positions.The loader arm will remain in this position for approximately 120 ofrotation of the drive shaft 45 while the work holder will remain uprightfor approximately 60. For ease in coordinating the cams on the shaft 46,locating holes 460, and 46b may be drilled parallel in the shaft 45 oneat each cam station. It then holes are drilled in the cams, onebeginning at the start of the low dwell portion of the cam 50 and theother beginning at the end of the low dwell portion of the cam BI, thecams 50 and SI will always be coordinated with each other when theseholes are aligned by any convenient pin or dowel. To coordinate themechanism so that the turret 36 will be indexed while the loader arm andthe work holder are in their upright position it is necessary only toadjust the indexing arm M on the idler shaft 42 by loosening the setscrew 41 and put it in the position indicated in Figure 10. In thisposition the turret is just beginning to be indexed.

It is further necessary that the back and forth movement of theregulating wheel I4 on the grinder be synchronized with the movement; orthe work holder so that the regulating wheel will be moved against thevalve just after the valve is positioned in the throat of the machine.This may be readily accomplished by coordinating the speed of the shaft46 which is driven from a standard power take-off of the in-feed driveatetachment IQ of the grinder through the universal drive and the spiralgear 23 with the feed of the in-Ieed mechanism I9. Since the Vin-feedattachment and mechanism is not a part of this, invention it will not bedescribed in detail.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principicsof this. invention, and it is, therefore. not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work treating stationwhich comprises a work supply receptacle, a swingable loader receivingwork successively from said receptacle, a convey or having a pluralityof work-receiving portions successively positioned adjacent said loaderto successively receive. work therefrom, a swingable work holderadjacent. the work-treating station of said machine for successivelyreceiving work from the conveyor, and mechanism driven by said machinefor swingin the loader, for driving the conveyor to advance the work onthe con veyor to the holder, to swing the holder in one direction tomove the work to the treating sta tion, to swing the holder in the otherdirection to return the treated work to the conveyor, and to furtheradvance the conveyor to discharge the work away from the treatingstation.

2. An automatic feeder for a machine. havin a worlctreating stationwhich comprise an inclined feeder track having a gravity discharge. aswingable loader receiving work successively from said feeder track, arotary conveyor having a plurality of work-receiving portions succesasively positioned adjacent said loader to successively receive worktherefrom, a swingable work holder adjacent the treatin station of saidmachine for successively receiving work from the conveyor, mechanism toactuate said loader between the discharge end of said track and saidrotary conveyor for charging the conveyor with work, mechanism forrotating the conveyor in termittently to advance work to the holder, andmechanism to actuate said holder to move work from said conveyor to thetreating station of the machine and to return treated work to saidconveyor for discharge,

3. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises a frame, an inclined feeder track having a gravitydischarge adjacent said frame, a loader arm pivotally mounted on saidframe, a rotary turret journaled in said frame and having a plurality ofwork-receiving slots in. the periphery thereof sue-i cessivelypositioned adjacent said loader to re ceive work therefrom, a swingableholder positionable under said turret for receiving said work therefrom,mechanism driven by said machine to actuate said loader arm between thedischarge end of said feeder track and said turret for charging saidturret with work, mechanism for rotating said turret intermittently toadvance work to said holder, and mechanism to actuate said holder tomove work from said turret to the treating station of the machine and toreturn treated work to said conveyor.

4. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises a work supply receptacle, 9. swingable loader receivingwork successively from said receptacle, a conveyor having a plurality ofWork-receiving'portions successively positioned adjacent said loader tosuccessively receive work therefrom, a swing-. able work holder adjacentthe treating station of said machine for successively receiving workfrom the conveyor, a cam-actuated rack and pinion mechanism to actuatesaid loader between the discharge end of said supply receptacle and saidconveyor for charging said conveyor with work, a peg-type intermittentdrive mechanism for rotating said conveyor intermittently to advancework to said work holder, and a camactuated rack and pinion mechanism.to actuate said holder to move work from said conveyor to the treatingstation of the machine and to return treated work to said conveyor fordischarge.

5. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises an inclined supply track having a gravity discharge, aloader arm having a work-receiving head p'ositioned adjacent thedischarge end of said supply track; a rotary conveyor driven by saidmachine having a plurality of work-receiving slots, a work holderpivotally mounted adjacent the treating station of said machine having awork-receiving head for cooperation with said conveyor, mechanism formoving said loader arm between the discharge end of said supply trackand said conveyor for positioning a'work piece in a slot in saidconveyor, and mechanism for rotating said conveyor, the work-receivingheads of said loader and said workholder having work-receiving recessesalignable with work in the slots of said conveyor whereby the conveyorwill move work out of said loader into the conveyor While it ejects atreated work piece out of said work holder.

6. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises an inclined track having a gravity discharge, aswingable loader positioned to receive workfrom said track, a swingablework holder disposed near the throat of the machine for positioning Worktherein, a conveyor for receiving work from said loader and deliveringit to said work holder comprising a rotatable member havingwork-receiving slots and a stationary plate member disposed beneath saidrotatable member, and mechanism driven by said machine for actuating theloader, for driving the conveyor and for swinging the holder to feed thework from the conveyor to the treating station and to swing the holderin the other direction to return the treated work to the conveyor and tofurther advance the conveyor to discharge the work away from thetreating station.

7. An'automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises a work supply track having a gravity discharge, aconveyor having a circular conveying member and having a plurality ofwork-receiving stations in the periphery thereof, a loading memberarranged to receive work from said supply track and swing it upwardly toa work-receiving station in said conveyor, guide means for directing thework into the work-receiving station, a work holder disposed on theopposite side of said conveyor from said loader member for receivingwork from said conveyor, said work holder being swingable downwardly topositio the work in the work-treating station of the machine, andmechanism driven by the'machine for rotating said conveyor, foractuating said loader member and for swinging said work holder in onedirection to move the work into the treating station and for swingingthe work in the other direction to return the work to the conveyor fordischarge.

8. An automatic feeder for a machine having a Work-treating stationwhich comprises a housing, a conveyor supported by said housing, a driveshaft journaled in said housing and arranged to drive said conveyor, aninclined supply track having a gravity discharge, a loader arm disposedfor pivoting on said housing to move work from said supply track to saidconveyor for loading the same, a Work holder'arm arranged in oneposition to receive workfrom said conveyor and arranged in a secondposition to hold the work in the work-treatingstation of the machine,and mechanism driven from the machine for rotating said drive shaft, forpivoting said loader arm and for swinging said work holder between itstwo operating positions.

9. An automatic feeder fora machine having a work-treating station whichcomprises a housing, a conveyor supported by said housing comprising astationary work support and a rotary member for moving work along thestationary support and having a plurality of work-receiving stations, adrive shaft journaled'in said housing for rotating said rotary member, aloader-arm pivotally mounted on said housing for moving work to saidconveyor for loading the work-receiving stations therein, a cam-actuatedrack and pinion drive mechanism for pivoting said loaderarm, a swingablework holder disposed in a first position to receive work from saidconveyor and in a second position to swing the Work into thework-treating station of the machine, ,a camactuated rack and piniondrive mechanism for swinging said holder from the first to the secondposition, and a drive associated with said drive shaft, with said drivemechanism for said loader arm and with said drive mechanism for saidholder to drive these mechanisms.

10. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises a housing, a rotary conveyor including a conveyingmember having a plurality of work-receiving stations therein, a driveshaft 'journaled in said housing and associated with said conveyor forrotation thereof, a loader arm pivotally mounted on said housing formoving work from a supply station to the work-receiving stations of saidconveyor, a work holder for moving work from said conveyor to the worktreating station of the machine, said work holder comprising a holderarm pivotally mounted 'on said housing, a clamping arm pivotallymountedonsaid holder arm, oppositely'disposed jaw members on said holderarm andon said clamping arm, a' resilient means for holding the workbetween said jaw members when said work holder is moving the workbetween the conveyor and the work-treating station of the machine, aspreader device for opening said jaws to permit spinning of said worktherein during the machining operation, and mechanism for driving saiddrive shaft, for pivoting said tween said conveyor and said tion of themachine.

11. An automatic feeder for a machine havinga work-treating stationwhich comprises a housing, a loader pivotally mounted on said housing, awork supply trackhaving a gravity discharge angers:

and being disposed to supply work to said loader, a conveyor having aplurality of work-receivin stations therein for receiving work from saidloader, said loader being arranged to deliver each work piece separatelyto a work-receiving station in said conveyor while holding the remainingwork pieces in said supply track, a holder having a spring-urged jawmember for clamping said work piece during movement of the holder andmovable to a release position for permitting spinning of the work pieceduring machining, and mechanism driven by said machine for swinging theloader, for driving the conveyor, for swinging the holder to feed thework from the conveyor into the work-treating station of the machine, toswing the holder in the opposite direction to return the treated work tothe conveyor, and for further advancing the conveyor to discharge thework.

12. An automatic feeder for a machine having a work-treating stationwhich comprises a work supply receptacle having a gravity discharge, aswingable loader receiving work successively from said receptacle, aconveyor comprising a stationary conveyor surface and a rotary conveyingmember for moving the work along said conveyor surface, said rotarymember having a plurality of pairs of diametrically opposedworkreceiving stations in the periphery thereof, a swingable work holderadjacent the treating station of said machine for successively receivingwork from the conveyor, said swingable loader being movable into one of'a pair of diametrically opposed work-receiving stations for loading thestation while said conveyor isinoperative and contemporaneously with themovement of said work holder into the other diametrically opposedwork-receiving statio'n whereby subsequent ro tation of said conveyorwill remove a work piece from said loader and will remove a machinedwork piece from said holder arm and position an unmachined piecetherein, and mechanism driven by said machine for swinging the loader,for driving the conveyor and for swinging the holder to feed the workfrom the conveyor to the work-treating station of the machine, and toswing the holder in the opposite direction to return the machined workto the conveyor and to further advance the conveyor to discharge thework from the treating station.

13. In a feeder for a machine having a worktreating station, a feederarm comprising a holder arm pivotally mounted adjacent saidwork-treating station, a clamping arm pivotally mounted on said holderarm, oppositely disposed jaw members on said holder arm and on saidclamping arm, a resilient means urging said jaw members together forholding the work between said jaw members when said feeder arm is movingthe work toward said work-treating station, and a spreader device foropening said jaws slightly against the action of said resilient means topermit spinning of said work therein during the treating operation.

14. A device for feeding headed stem articles such as poppet valves orthe like to a grinding throat of a grinding machine which. comprises apair of spaced inclined rails mounted on said machine and arranged forsupporting the heads of said articles thereon in stepped inclinedrelation while receiving the stems of said articles between the rails, aturret mounted on said machine and having a plurality of stations forreceiving the stems of said articles, a work loader shiftably mounted onsaid machine for transferring the end article at the bottom of saidrails to a station of said turret, a work holder shiftably mounted onsaid machine for moving said article out of its station of the turretinto the grinding throat and for returning the article to the turret,said loader and said holder each having an undercut recess for receivingthe head of an article therein, said recess of the loader beingalternately aligned with the lower ends of said rails to receive anarticle by gravity flow from said rails and aligned with said turret toposition the stem of the article in a station of the turret, means forrotating the turret to remove the article from said loader, said loaderhaving an abutment face holding the articles inthe rails whenever therecess of the loader is misaligned" with the rails, said recess of theholder being aligned with the turret to receive an article therefrom andto return the ground article thereto, and said turret being arranged forejecting the ground article from the holder when the holder returns thearticle to the turret.

15. A device for feeding poppet valves: or the like to the grindingthroat of a grinding machine which comprises a pair of spaced inclinedrails mounted on said machine and arranged for supporting the heads ofsaid valves thereon in stepped inclined relation while receiving thestems of said valves between the rails, a turret rotatably mounted onsaid machine at a level above the lower ends of said rails and having aplurality of stations for receiving the stems of said valves, a workloader tiltably mounted on said machine and having an undercut recessalternately alignable with the lower ends of said rails to receive avalve by gravity flow therefrom and. with said turret to deposit the,stem of said valve in the turret, said recess releasably retaining saidvalve head, a loader tiltably mounted on said machine having an undercutvalve head-receivin recess alternately alignable with said turret andwith said grinding throat of the machine, said holder being arranged formoving a valve from the turret into the grinding throat and forreturning the ground valve to the turret, and means for rotating theturret to eject the ground valve out of the holder.

16. A device for feeding poppet valves or the like to the grindingthroat of a centerless-type grinding machine which comprises track meansarranged for supporting a row of valves for gravity flow, a loader armshiftable from a receiving position adjacent the lower end of said trackmeans to a discharge position remote from said lower end, a turretshiftably mounted adjacent the discharge position of said loader andhaving a plurality of valve stem-receiving stations, means for shiftingsaid turret to move the valves in. said stations, a work holder armtiltably mounted on said machine to transfer a valve from said turret tosaid grinding throat and back to said turret, and mechanism timing theoperations of said loader arm, said turret, and said holder arm forsimultaneously inserting a valve into the turret and ejecting a groundvalve from the turret.

1'7. Automatic apparatus for feeding poppet valve stems to the grindingthroat of a grinding machine which comprises a valve receptacle, aloader arranged for removing valves in succession from said receptacle,a turret arranged to convey valves from said loader to a positionadjacent the grinding throat, a work holder tiltably mounted adjacentsaid grinding throat to remove valves from the turret and position thestems thereof in the grinding throat, and mechanism for ejecting groundvalves from the work holder.

18. In a valve-feeding mechanism for a grinding machine the improvementsof an inclined track adapted to support a row of poppet valves instepped superimposed relation, a loader having a valve head-receivinrecess adapted to be aligned with the lower end of said track to receivethe end valve by gravity flow from the track, and an abutment face onsaid loader arranged to close the open bottom of said track wheneversaid recess of the loader is misaligned relative to the bottom of saidtrack.

19. In combination in a machine for processing poppet valves or thelike, a frame structure, a work holding member having a longitudinalslot and flange portions partially closing said slot, said slot havingopen ends through which a valve may be inserted or withdrawn, said workholder being pivotable from a work-receiving position with said slot ina position for holding the valve with the shank extending downwardly toa work discharge position with the shank extending upwardly from thehead, a turret rotatable about an axis in the plane of pivoting of saidwork holder and having recess portions overlying the discharge positionof said work holder for receiving the work piece as said holder ispivoted to said work discharge position, and means for rotating saidturret to slide the valve out of said slot for conveying the valve tothe machine.

20. In a machine having a station for processing poppet valves or thelike, a rotatable conveyor having work engaging portions on itsperipheral portion receiving valves at a loading station and slidingthem on a platform through substantially 180 to a processing station, aswingable work holder at said processing station having a slot movableinto the path of travel of said work engaging portions of said conveyorand underlying the peripheral portion 'of said conveyor with the base ofsaid slot aligned with the surface of the platform whereby the valve isslid into said slot as said conveyor is rotated, and

meansfor swingingsaid work holder to deliver the valve to the processingstation.

21. In a'machine having a work processing station, a work feedercomprising a first arm member pivotally mounted on the frame of saidmachine, a second arm member pivotally mountv bers toward each other forgripping the work member between said jaws, and an adjustable membersecured to one of said arms-movable against a portion of the frame ofthe machine as said feeder approaches the work processing station forseparating saidjaws to relax the grip of the jaws in the work pieceduring treating.

thereof.

KENNETH F. RICHARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,834,158 Johnston Dec. 1, 19311,892,364 Raule Dec. 27, 1932 1,981,260 Yager Nov. 20, 1934 2,117,917

Silven May 1'7, 1938

